Tainted With White
by ErikoSuzuhara
Summary: Arranged marriages are quite common amongst the nobility. But when she is to wed the man who is the cause of her sister's death, she finds herself damning her wretched noble birth. [Jade x OC]
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

It was surreal, she thought, as she looked up at the form above her. Somehow, she didn't know what to do, as if every ounce of common sense had gone over her head and had simply left her. Her body remains motionless while her eyes remained focused above the body her and held that naïve sense of curiosity. She knew something was wrong but she wanted to believe that it was simply her imagination even though it was anything but that.

"Mother?"

She called with wariness, uncertainty. There was no answer, however, not even a movement from the motherly figure before her.

She craned her neck up so that she could get a better view of her own mother. Her long wavy fair hair hung ominously over her face, blocking her view of it. She wore her favourite white dress and then she idly wondered how it was possible for her bare feet to not touch the carpeted flooring.

"Mother?"

She tried once again though she received no answer. Why? Had she angered her mother without her meaning to?

She reached up a hand to pull on the edge of her mother's dress. It was of silk and felt smooth against her fingers. She reveled at the way it slightly glistened against the light before she tugged at it in an attempt to grab her attention.

"Mother, are you mad?"

And she tugged and tugged, persistently and stubbornly. And then her cries had become desperate, loud — _why won't she answer?_

The door to her mother's room opened with a slight creak and she felt someone come in, probably having heard her increasing volumes of cries. Before she knew it, she heard a frightened shriek and she thought, _Ah, it's only Malina_ , but then she was harshly pulled away from her mother and someone blocked her view.

"My lady, please... _don't_ look."

Why? What was the matter?

There was then a commotion as the maid called out for someone, her voice desperate and pleading like hers was just moments ago. The other servants entered the room and she was pulled away from the room. She tried to squirm away from the maid holding her, calling for her mother but her attempts were futile.

She only had time to look back and the last thing she saw was her mother's form floating in midair with her silky beautiful white dress.

* * *

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ND1992 Ifritday, Gnome Redecan 43

Grand Chokmah – Malkuth

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"Younger sister?"

Gelda Nebilim had a look of disbelief in her face upon hearing her father's announcement.

"Father, what is the meaning of this?"

Aedelric Nebilim, who sat across from her, was the epitome of calmness as he took his time to respond while taking a sip of the tea served for them. Her own drink remained untouched as she waited for an explanation from the councillor before her. She watched as he placed the teacup on its saucer before he calmly regarded her with his grey eyes.

"It is as you heard," he calmly told her. "She is a daughter of Sophia Marlies of the Marlies household."

He spoke as if the affair was of no real importance, that it was not she should concern herself over. It almost disgusted her but she was aware of the nonexistent love he and her mother had for each other. She was aware that it was merely an arranged marriage, something that the Score had foretold was meant to happen and would guarantee them happiness. She almost found it laughable at the thought.

There was no real happiness between the two, only contentment and perhaps selfishness for maintaining their high status amongst the nobility.

"That is _not_ what I mean and you know it!"

She saw the faintest hints of irritation on his otherwise cool façade but soon he recovered as he proceeded to explain the situation in detail.

"It was an affair from a long time ago. I was not even aware of her existence until the news of Lady Sophia's death," he told her with an even voice. "It seemed that even her family was kept in the dark regarding the child's existence."

"She never told anyone?"

He shook his head as an answer, a grave look appearing on his face.

"I spoke with the current head of the household and I was told that Lady Sophia moved out of the main household and only took a few selected servants with her. I assume it was when she was pregnant with the child and decided to keep it a secret."

"But how were they able to find out about her?"

The uncertainty in her father's face was subtle but it was quickly gone, almost as if it was but an illusion. He continued with his story with an even steadiness.

"When news of Lady Sophia's death reached the main household, the servants that accompanied Lady Sophia took the child to the main household along with the letter that mentioned of the child's true parentage."

At this, he placed a folded letter by the table situated in-between them. Gelda took it in her hands and opened it with fumbling hands. The paper crinkled under her hold and she quickly read its contents with her eyes, her brows furrowing the more she read. Once she finished reading it, her face was of pity.

"She...committed suicide?" She asked softly, uncertain and dejected. What she had just read was a suicide letter from the deceased noble.

"It appears so," he said. "She had apparently hanged herself and the servants found her…with the girl inside the room."

She quickly looked back at her father.

"What?"

"At any rate," her father said, swiftly changing the topic, as if he didn't want to elaborate on the matter. "With the political turmoil going on at the palace, the situation is quite chaotic. The Marlies household won't be able to take care of her since they took the brunt of the political war. I would take her in but keep in mind that I am quite occupied with my duties as a councillor; I won't be able to give her my full attention."

And then it hit her, why her father had suddenly summoned her presence at the capital out of nowhere, why after a year of him deliberately trying to ignore her existence had finally contacted her. It all made sense now and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"You want me to take her in," she simply stated with pursed lips, her tone dripping with subtle venom.

There was silence for a moment as her father purposely refused to answer, simply taking another sip of his steaming tea. "You do have a school at Keterburg, do you not? The emperor's heir is residing there, I heard. Perhaps it would be a good idea if she befriends the prince and possibly be guaranteed a position in the council in the near future. Do not worry; it is but a temporary arrangement."

Gelda could not believe what she was hearing, her face that of shock and surprise. She slammed her hand on the table once she had recovered. The impact of her hand made the table shake though her show of anger did not seem to deter her father in the least.

"She is but a child and you already _plan_ to use her as your pawn, father?!" She said accusatorily. "She just _lost_ her mother! Not only that, you only found out of her existence recently!"

He frowned, the creases on his face becoming visible as he furrowed his brows.

"Which is why I want to make sure that she has a secure future. Surely you understand where I'm coming from, Gelda?"

"But–!"

" _Gelda_ ," Aedelric interrupted firmly, his eyes narrowed to a glare. "You will take her with you until things have calmed down here. I did not ask you to come here only for you to argue with me."

He suddenly stood up to his feet, the conversation obviously done.

"Valentina is in her room. I already told her you will be here to pick her up. Go meet her," was all he said before he left the room, leaving with her with her own thoughts.

Gelda brushed her fingers through her hair in frustration once she was alone. It was a lot to take in and the fact that her father had the time to fool around with the nobles at such a time...

An audible sigh escaped from her lips as she felt a dull pain on her head form. She didn't know what to do. It was obvious that her father did not want to take care of her supposedly younger sister, prioritizing his job over his family. She knew that, of course. After all, she had to live her life with her father absent most of the time. But to have her younger sister go through a childhood without both her father and mother around…it was an absolutely lonely thought, one that she would prefer her sibling would rather not go through.

However...

She stood up to her feet and was instantly out of the room she was occupying. She found herself through the halls of the manor, her destination already set in her mind. Her footsteps came in hushed thumps as they padded through the carpeted floor. Before long, she was facing a door in front of her.

She gave two cursory knocks before she let herself in and when the child inside the room looked up at her, her grey eyes looking up at her with curiosity, she knew that she could do something.

A smile graced her lips, walking up to the child.

"Hello, Valentina. My name is Gelda, your older sister."

She presented a hand to her, to introduce herself.

"I will take care of you."

Her younger sister might not have her parents around, but she – the older sister – was around, and it was up to her to love her and provide her a happy childhood.

It was a promise.


	2. Chapter One: Snow

**A/N:** I made a few changes on the prologue, namely just changing the name of Valentina's father from Sylva to Aedelric (means "noble" and "power, rule") and some minor dialogue changes between Gelda and Aedelric.

The chapters will grow increasingly longer in later chapters. On that note, I will post up a link to Valentina's character art when I get the time to properly draw her. In the meantime, I hope you will settle with the crappy doodle I have drawn with her and Jade as the cover image of this story. You can always type "Valentina Marlies" on tumblr and a few crappy old drawings may come up, if you're really that curious lol

* * *

 **Chapter One: Snow**

* * *

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ND1992 Undineday, Gnome Redecan 51

Keterburg – Malkuth

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Keterburg, also known as the _Silver World_ , was a cold city. Although it lived to its name as a beautiful tourist spot, Valentina hated it the moment she stepped off the ship they took to reach this city.

In all her nine years of existence, this was her first time seeing snow. Before, she had only seen them from books where they were romanticized for their beauty and the almost mysterious aura they emitted. Looking at them now in person only proved that they were truly beautiful though no book had ever told her that it was this _extremely cold_.

She could already feel her cheeks hurting from the cold climate, having been used to the warm climate at Grand Chokmah. There, it never snowed, so this whole occurrence was a first experience for her. So far, it was safe to claim that she was not fond of it one bit, idly wondering why anyone would _even_ be willing to live in such unbearable conditions.

She was draped with layers of clothing and over that was a long pale blue wool coat that reached just inches above her knees. Her scarf had been bundled around her neck, partially covering her face. Her winter boots were thick and heavy, making it difficult to walk, especially when it came to maneuvering through the thick snow. She also wore a pair of thick gloves and earmuffs that almost blocked out the sounds of crowd around her. Really, this getup was almost too _ridiculous_. How could anyone even wear this much clothing?

Her older half-sister, having noticed her silent irritation, merely gave her an amused grin, as if seeing her struggle was an entertaining sight.

"It's to keep you warm," she answered the younger girl's unspoken question.

Valentina simply pouted. But why _here_ of all places? Malkuth had other cities that surely had a decent enough climate and did not require wearing many layers of clothing.

"Now, let's go. My place is not too far from here."

Her sister offered her a hand which she simply stared at with a neutral expression. At first, she simply looked at it then up to the female adult who she found was looking at her with a smile. It was a smile that vaguely reminded her of her mother's – warm and kind.

 _Mother..._

Slowly, she reached up and took her hand, slipping her gloved fingers around hers. She could see the pleased look on the woman's face – perhaps relieved that she had willingly approached her – and gave her hand a tiny squeeze of appreciation before she was gently led through the foreign streets. On the way, her sister talked of her students, of how they were always out causing trouble.

"But they're good kids," she said with a hint of fondness. "I think you'll get along well with them. Now that I think about it, you are the same age as they are."

The little girl only nodded her head as some sort of acknowledgement to the woman's story but said nothing otherwise.

It didn't take long until they reached their destination. Upon arrival, she saw a modestly-sized three story house. The place was made of wood and was simple compared to that of the sophisticated-looking houses found in Grand Chokmah. This one was undoubtedly more structured to withstand the harsh weathers of the city more so than for aesthetic reasons.

"We're here," Gelda announced. "Come, I'll show you inside."

Once they were inside, it was the scent of wood that greeted them. There was also a lingering scent that reminded her of something herbal though she couldn't quite decipher just what it was.

Gelda flicked the lights on, illuminating the insides of the house.

The interior was decorated minimally and nothing too gaudy. There were the occasional paintings and various plants that served as the house's only decorations. The furniture found inside were mostly made of wood as well, so much more different from the marble and porcelain furniture that were commonly found at the capital.

Not too far away from where she stood, there was a grandfather clock ticking away by the side of a flight of stairs leading up to the next floor.

Gelda proceeded to rid of her coat and tapped her boots to rid of the excess snow that clung to it. Valentina halted her observations when she heard the woman's movements. With a brief look, she copied after her and began to remove the ridiculous amount of layers she had on. The woman took her coat from her to hang it on one of the hooks on the coat rack. The luggage they brought with them was left by the foyer, she noticed, and she vaguely wondered how her sister was able to carry all those with her rather easily. On that note, did she not have any servants in this household…?

"Let me just start the fire," she heard her sister announce from inside one of the rooms, interrupting her train of thought. She hadn't even noticed she was gone until she had spoken. Not long after, the older woman's head popped out from one of the open doors, a smile on her face. "Now, don't just stand there, Valentina. Come inside."

She disappeared long before she could provide an answer and she was left to herself once again. Having nothing else to do, she followed after her sister. She passed by a room that appeared to be a classroom of sorts. She paused by the partly open door, curiously looking inside. There were many desks and chairs situated inside and a podium by the front with a blackboard. It was but a simple classroom, something she had only been able to see in picture books. In the corner of the room was a lab of some sorts, perhaps for the purpose of science experiments. Her sister had been speaking the truth when she said that she owned a private school; Valentina just didn't know that it would be adjoined the adult's home.

Finding nothing in particular that piqued her interest, she ventured to the room her sister was in. She found her kneeling by the chimney, hands hovering over the chunks of wood gathered there.

She paused by the door frame her grey eyes glinting with curiosity. A small glyph of fonons appeared by the older female's hand. The light emitted from it was of colour of red – the _Fifth Fonon._ Fire sprouted from the glyph she had summoned and engulfed the firewood with flames. Soon enough, she could feel the heat emitting from it and the sounds of fire crackling filled the room.

She was a _fonist_ , someone who was capable of summoning fonic artes.

Gelda had stood back to her feet and glanced at her, noticing her focused stare.

"What's wrong?"

She blinked her eyes, snapping out of her stupor, and looked up at her before shaking her head to tell her that it was nothing.

"Are you hungry?" The adult asked. As if on cue, the little girl's stomach gave a tiny growl that meant to indicate that she was indeed hungry. She nodded her head this time, causing her sister to frown at her lack of speech. As quickly as it appeared, however, the smile returned to her face.

"All right, let's get something to eat. I think there's still some food left here before I travelled to the capital..."

The older woman exited the room. Valentina followed after her silently, her booted feet thumping lightly on the carpeted floors.

She was led to another room that looked like both the kitchen and dining room. Like everything else in this house, it was minimally decorated. It had what any basic kitchen would need – a stove, fridge, and a few cupboards and pantries where she could only assume contained food and ingredients. There were a few herbs of various kinds hanging in the ceiling which she realized later on was the source of the herbal scent that lingered in the air. A wooden table with wooden stools surrounding it was situated in the middle of the room and she approached it to situate herself on one of the stools.

Once settled down, she watched her sister rummage through the fridge in search of something edible for them to consume.

"I was certain I had something left here..." She could hear her mumbling to herself, sounds of glass clinking every time she moved something.

Valentina merely waited patiently. She was left to watch the woman move back and forth as she prepared them supper. Soon, it is the aroma of meat and onions that filled the air. Once again, her stomach gave an involuntary low growl as it demanded to be fed.

It didn't take long until supper was ready. A bowl of stew and spoon was served before her just as Gelda took a seat from across her, the stool scrapping against the floor the moment she pulled one for her to occupy. She set her own bowl and spoon on the table.

Steam floated from the hot stew and along with it came a delicious aroma that only intensified the young girl's hunger.

"You don't like it?"

She looked up from the food to her sister upon her enquiry and saw the look of worry on the female adult's face. She didn't supply an answer; instead, she had picked up her spoon and began eating. She could hear the silent sigh coming from the adult but soon enough heard her eating the food she had prepared.

The atmosphere was quite awkward as they remained silent. Although her sister had not said anything for the entirety, she could feel her eyes on her as she ate.

Valentina flinched upon the sudden feeling of a weight on her head. Peering up, she had realized that her sister had reached out a hand to pat her head gently, almost fondly. A seemingly genuine smile was on her face as she brushed her larger hand through her fair hair. Her touch had almost reminded her of her own mother's but the differences were much too evident – her mother's hand felt soft and smooth while the one belonging to her sister was calloused and rough.

"You can trust me, you know?" Gelda told her.

She blinked away from her silent musings to once again turn her attention to the woman. In return, the woman gave her one last smile before pulling back her hand to resume eating.

Valentina didn't know what to make of this woman. While they were certainly half-sisters, she was still an illegitimate child. She was aware of her lineage, of how she was the result of her mother's illicit relationship with her supposedly father. Even her own father had not wanted her. Though he had used the excuse that she was not safe with him due to the political turmoil currently happening at the palace, she knew the real reason behind his actions – she would be a liability to him.

So then...why would she treat her with such kindness, acting as if they had been family all this time?

It was best that she did not dwell much more on the topic, she thought, going back to her food.

She was beginning to hate her own existence.

* * *

Supper had gone uneventful and soon, it was time for bed.

Gelda had taken her to a spare room on the third floor.

The room, which she would occupy during her stay here at Keterburg, was not as big as her old one but it was spacious enough for her. There was a bed, a desk, and a closet inside. There was also a vanity mirror in the corner, right beside the desk situated by the windows. The windows, slightly covered by the curtains, had a good view of the outside. The room itself was pretty much empty otherwise but it gave her much opportunity to decorate it as she saw fit.

"How about it, do you like it?" The woman asked moments after her silent inspection of her room. Her response was a simple nod of her head. It would seem it was enough of an answer for the older woman for she smiled happily.

"I will leave your stuff here then. The bathroom is at the end of the hall if you ever need to use it."

She made no move or sound of indication that she had heard her. She simply sat on the bed she was given. The furniture gave a slight creak at the addition of her weight on the mattress.

"Well then, I will see you tomorrow morning. Good night, Valentina."

The sounds of her sister's footsteps leaving and the door clicking closed were the last thing she heard before she was left to herself. She shifted her head to the direction of the window, watching the snowflakes that fell from the night sky. She stood up once again to approach the window though, the moment she did, she felt something fall from the pocket of her dress. The object fell on the floor with a light _thump_ , the only sound in the soundless room.

She promptly looked down, eyes slightly growing wide when she saw just what it was that had fallen. Panic was the first to set on her features as she almost stumbled on her feet to kneel down, hands reaching out to pick up the fallen object. Her bare fingers held the cold metal of the pocket watch. It was made of platinum, pristine white and glistening under the light. She clicked the switch that opened the cover of it, frantically checking if it was broken. Much to her relief, it was fine, the second hand still ticking away. Snapping the lid close, she eyed the intricate design of a rose emblem embedded on the front. She traced it with her fingers, silently admiring the beautiful work of art. There were fonic words embedded at the front and read: _My heart belongs to you for eternity. This I vow._

They were words that held no meaning to her but it was obvious that they were important. Her mother had given it to her on her ninth birthday and she remembered being overjoyed upon receiving it.

" _Take care of it for me, Valentina. This was a precious gift to mama from someone important."_

There was a smile on her face as she handed it to her tiny hands but now that she thought about it, there was a hint of sadness in her otherwise beautiful smile.

Had it been her last gift to her before she decided to...?

...

Wet droplets of clear liquid.

One after another, staining the carpeted floor beneath her.

Belatedly, she realized that they were her tears – _her_ own tears. The realization hit her so hard that it sent her shaking, her chest constraining so painfully that she had to gasp out for breaths. Suppressed sobs had slipped out of her lips as she held the pocket watch to her chest, crying as she realized that she was gone – that her beautiful, gentle, loving mother was gone. _Forever_.

No more kind words that assured her of her safety, that soft voice that sang her sweet lullabies as she was lulled to sleep, that fond smile directed her way as she called for her name—

And now, Valentina was alone and that was the harshest truth she was having a hard time coming to terms with.


	3. Chapter Two: Clouds

A/N: First of all, I want to apologize for publishing this REALLY LATE. I keep rewriting the scene with Valentina's meeting with the group until finally I got impatient and just settled with this one...Sorry it's not as good OTL (I'll probably edit this chapter later when I'm not so stressed with work /cries)

In case anyone is wondering, Franz is Peony. Jade and Saphir met Peony in ND1992 when they broke in the mansion. Since that meeting, Peony then began sneaking out of the mansion and he went by the name Franz (his older half-brother's name, by the way) for a while when he joined Gelda's school.

Anyway, since this story starts off in the beginning of ND1992, I'm going with the headcanon that Peony hasn't revealed to the others (except Jade since it was Jade who he first met and revealed that he was the prince everyone was talking about; Saphir was used as bait so the asshat can sneak in the mansion) that his actual name is Peony and is the rumoured prince everyone was talking about until later.

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Clouds**

* * *

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ND1992 Loreleiday, Gnome-Redecan 53

Keterburg – Malkuth

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

One moment, Valentina was roaming about the streets in search of her older sister, and the next, she was gazing at the blue sky. There was a dull pain on her face, followed by the feeling of something _extremely_ cold. She could hear someone gasping in horror at what had transpired. Instead of moving, she remained on the ground, eyes watching the clouds up in the beautiful sky.

She felt like she was floating, away from all the tragedy after tragedy that kept occurring in her life. She wanted to reach out a hand and fly away from here, just like the clouds that appear and then vanished without a sign.

She heard a pair (or perhaps more) of feet that approached her and she could see children close to her age peering at her with worried expressions on their faces.

And then she was brought back to reality.

* * *

 _Earlier that day…_

It had finally stopped snowing.

Clouds moved ever so slowly up in the clear, blue sky. It provided shade from the bright sun that was at its peak. The snow from last night had accumulated outside and was literally everywhere – from trees, to the roads, and the fields. It was a truly remarkable sight, had she not known that it would be extremely cold.

 _She really hated the cold_.

She could subtly hear the sounds of movement from downstairs, accompanied by the light happy tune her sister was humming as she cooked breakfast. Her bedroom door had been partially left open so that she could hear the adult call for her whenever she was needed.

At the moment, the young girl was sitting by the desk in her room, chin on both open palms as she stared at the outside world. She was already dressed for the day, donning one of her finer clothing and a pale blue hairband decorating her fair hair. She had been told earlier that after breakfast, they would be making a trip to the market to replenish their food supply. While she did not like the idea of being out in this weather, she knew she had no other choice but to accompany her sister.

Her eyes trailed after the slow movement of the clouds as it passed by, floating in a seemingly endless progression. There was something captivating about cloud watching, soothing whatever apprehensions she might have possessed. It was something she had done quite often during leisure afternoons.

Her eyes grew wide with delight when she saw one cloud that almost resembled a cheagle. She quickly spun around – face lit up and mouth open to tell her mother what she just discovered but was met with an empty room. Her expression immediately fell, realizing where she was as she turned back to the window with sadness.

 _She was gone_.

A knock by her door startled her out of her thoughts. Quickly turning, she saw her sister standing by the doorframe, an apologetic look on her face.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," the older woman apologized with a sincere tone. "Breakfast is ready. Let's eat."

The chair let out a muffled scrap as she pushed it back then stood to follow after her sister. The woman held the door open for her and waited until they were both out to close it. Both of them trudged down the stairs and made their way to the kitchen.

It was the delicious aroma of eggs, meat, and something sweet that greeted her as soon as she stepped in. She was suddenly reminded of how hungry she was. Much to her delight, it was scrambled eggs, sausages, and pancakes served on the table, along with the utensils they would be using to eat.

She couldn't help the happy expression on her face as she quickly moved take a seat on one of the stools, Gelda doing the same and taking the spot across the young child.

The butter on the pancakes had already begun to melt by the time she had settled down on her seat. The maple syrup looked absolutely delectable as it dripped down the corners of the round flat cake. The eggs and sausages were placed on the side and were still steaming from having just cooked. It was a rather mouth-watering sight.

Gelda let out a quiet laugh, having noticed the girl's pleased expression.

"Well, go on ahead and eat! Help yourself."

She heard the sounds of metal and china clinking as her sister began eating. Having taken this as a sign to begin eating, she held her own eating utensils and took the first bite.

The pancake was soft as she put it in her mouth, the maple syrup melting with it. The eggs and sausages tasted good as well. It was just a simple breakfast, not as fancy as the one she used to eat back at her old home but it was good in its own way. How strange.

It wasn't until they were almost done eating that her sister had chosen to speak.

"We should be back by noon or after if we leave after breakfast," she informed her while glancing at the wristwatch she wore on her left wrist.

Perhaps her obvious distaste of being outside in the cold had shown for her sister let out a chuckle.

"It won't be that bad. Besides, the weather is nicer than it usually is so this would be the perfect time to show you around town."

Valentina glanced out the windows that had a good view of the outside. The frown reappeared on her face when she saw the snow piled up outside.

"We're almost out of fruits and vegetables. And some snacks. I will be resuming classes tomorrow so I have to make sure we have everything."

She turned to look back at her sister, seeing her easing herself up as she finished her breakfast. Having noticed that she, too, was done, she instructed her to bring her plates to the sink. It was obvious that Valentina was accustomed to having people tend to her and do everything for her and the teacher needed to change that if she was to stay with her.

"I know you're not used to it but since it will be just the two of us, you'll have to help with the chores," she told her as the girl stood beside her. She only looked at her, blinking with obvious confusion and curiosity.

"I mean like cleaning and stuff. You can do that, right?"

The girl looked like she wanted to say something, a thoughtful expression crossing on her features before finally nodding her head in affirmation. Gelda smiled at this.

"Good. Let me just grab you a small stool so you can help with drying the dishes."

She returned moments later with a wooden stool and placed it by the girl's feet. She stepped up on it and took the clean cloth she was given. She watched as her sister wore a pair of rubber gloves and began scrubbing the used dishes. Then the sounds of running water reached her ears as the faucet was turned on.

"Here," the woman suddenly said, surprising her. "Wipe this with the cloth and put it on the dish rack."

She glanced at the white dish rack situated beside the sink and then looked back at her sister to give her a silent nod of understanding. She took the white plate from her hands, careful not to drop it. Gelda watched her carefully in case the large plate slipped from her tiny hands as she wiped it clean with the dry cloth. She sent her a small smile when she was done and successfully.

When they were done, Gelda patted Valentina's head with a proud smile.

"Thanks for helping with the dishes, Valentina. You were a great help."

She blinked up at her sister, feeling something strange worm up to her chest. Was that…happiness she was feeling at the moment? She wasn't too sure. It had been entirely too long.

"Here."

She looked up and found a candy in the open palm of her sister.

"For a job well done."

Slightly and perhaps a little shyly, she took the offered candy in her hold. She eyed it with curiosity, studying the sweet treat in her hand as if it was of most interest.

Gelda only smiled before telling her that they should be on their way before it got too busy at the marketplace.

* * *

Valentina's breaths came out in white puffs of air every time she exhaled. Though it was still cold outside, it was considerably better than when she had first arrived at Keterburg.

The streets were brimming with people as they walked along the roads. There were various stalls situated here and there, selling goods that were both familiar and strange to her. She tried her best to remain in step with her sister, a little uncomfortable at the crowd surrounding her. Having spent most of life confined indoors with her mother, it was a little unsettling being surrounded by strangers.

Still, she held in her complaints as she followed after her guardian. She adjusted the scarf around her neck when she felt it come loose, securing it in a better angle so that it wouldn't fall at all. Her boots had already been mucked with mud as they travelled longer in these busy streets. Cleaning them later on would be troublesome but she didn't dwell much on that thought.

Moments later, her sister had stopped by a stall that had various fruits on display at the front. She recognized most of the fruits for display – some of them a little strange and questionable-looking but she had a feeling that they were especially native to this arctic city and not entirely common at the capital.

There was an old man behind the stall, looking like was to doze off until the sight of her sister.

"Ah, Gelda! You're back," the old man stated as a smile crossed his wrinkled features. "How was your trip to the capital?"

"It went well," Gelda replied with a smile of her own. "I'll have the usual."

"Sure thing." The man began to stuff a bag with various fruits. He paused when he noticed the girl standing beside her regular customer. The girl looked like she'd rather much be somewhere else than out here. "And who's the pretty little lady here with you?"

"My younger sister," Gelda responded with a smile.

"My, she looks like one of those porcelain dolls," the old man complimented. "What's your name, dear?"

She didn't answer, looking away and subtly easing in behind her sister's form. This did not remain unnoticed by Gelda and she could not help the apologetic smile she sent the older man's way.

"Ah, sorry, Hanks. She's a little shy," her sister apologized as she handed the appropriate payment to the old man. In return, he gave her the bag of fruits and didn't bother counting the gald as he pocketed the money.

"Her name's Valentina."

The old man merely let out a good-natured smile.

"My, what a beautiful name. Valentina means _the healthy and strong saint_ in Ancient Ispanian, does it not?" The man nodded to himself as he said this, one hand holding his chin. "You are blessed with a beautiful name, young lady."

Her body involuntarily stiffened at that statement though none of the adults had noticed this as they both bid their own farewells to each other.

"Come, we'll head down to the port and get some fresh fish," her sister said with a beckon of her hand.

The sights were a new experience for her. There were noises that came from everywhere and it was a little daunting, overwhelming to hear them all at the same time. The market bustled with laughter, voices that conversed with each other, yells and everything.

Was this how people lived normally?

They had passed by a chapel, a one so common in Auldrant in general. It was a small quaint one with distinguishable stain glass windows as the frontal decoration of the building. The roofs were coated with white snow. Valentina could hear audible sounds of voice singing as they honoured the Score and Yulia. They almost echoed out of the chapel. The idle sounds of piano accompanying caught her attention the most, however, and she halted her footsteps.

There were memories – fresh memories – of a time where she listened to that gentle sound. The beautiful music drifted in the air, accompanied by her mother's soft soothing voice that sang of innocent lullabies. Then the warm hand that brushed their fingers against her face before they disappeared as they assumed their place back on the black and white keys, playing a familiar tune that she had almost embedded on her heart. Her heart restricted against her ribcage, almost beating harshly as she felt the slight tremor that threatened her being.

 _Mother._

Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes burning.

She hadn't even been given time to properly mourn her. There was no funeral, no nothing. But she knew she was gone, her kindness and gentleness all gone. She was not stupid yet everyone treated her like she knew nothing just because she was a child. And for this reason, they assumed that she was not aware that no one wanted her – not by her supposedly family after hearing that she was an illegitimate child, not even her father who wanted nothing to do with her because he had a job to do and taking care of a child was certainly not on his priority list and would not be of merit to him.

No one had cared for her and she felt that her existence was nothing but a nuisance, a waste of time and space. And perhaps that was what had driven her to her eventual withdrawal from everyone to save herself from the unnecessary pain.

She was better off this way.

She shivered as she strayed away from those depressing thoughts, beginning to feel the cool air once again. She focused to her surroundings once more and when she looked up, she found her sister nowhere. Panic was the first to set in on her as she moved her head side to side in search of her sister. When she realized that she was nowhere to be seen, she began walking.

The snow crunched beneath her boots as she took a step, and then another, and another. There were many people around her and she took the time to search through the crowd in hopes of finding the fair-haired adult though there was no hide or nook of her sister at all. She paused, thinking for a moment. The only logical thing for her to do was to remain rooted on her spot in case her sister finally realized that she was gone and decided to backtrack her steps. But Valentina was not one of patience and added in with the cold she was still not accustomed to, she was on the move once again.

She was certain that she would find her somewhere and if not, she could always go back to her house- _oh_.

She stopped, realizing something. She _couldn't_ even remember how to get back to her sister's place.

Everything looked the same, what with all the snow coating every streets and roads in this city.

Her breaths came out in white puffs of air as she eyed her unfamiliar surroundings. She spotted a steep flight of stairs and stared at it, head tilting to the side. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she walked towards it and began climbing up the snow-coated steps – the thought of her only straying farther even more at the back of her mind as naïve curiosity took over her common sense.

It wasn't long until she reached the top of the stairs to reveal a park of some sorts. She examined the area silently with her eyes as she walked to the centre of it. There was a marbled monument that marked the very centre of the park. Upon closer inspection, she read the engraved letters found on the bottom of it. He was the founder of Keterburg, apparently.

She looked up at the statue that towered over her, noting how closely it resembled a real human, if not of the obvious stone material it was made of. The man depicted looked striking, to put it simply, and he was riding a horse that only stood in its two hind legs while the frontal legs were up in the air. The supposedly former emperor held a sword up with one hand while the other held onto the reigns attached to the horse. It looked like he was trying to raise the spirits of nonexistent soldiers as he led them to war.

Turning away as she lost interest, she scanned the area when she remembered what she was supposed to be doing.

She noticed a group of kids playing not too far from where she stood but otherwise, no one else occupied this park. When she realized that her sister was nowhere near this place, she moved to leave. However, the moment she spun around with one foot up mid-step, something cold hit her right in the face. The impact was strong enough to send her falling on her rear, her fall cushioned by the snow beneath her.

There was a simultaneous gasp of surprise and rushed footsteps rapidly approaching her the moment she fell.

"I _told_ you to be careful, Franz!"

"It was Jade's fault! I wasn't expecting him to evade it so easily!"

"Don't blame me for your own mistake," came an impassive voice that obviously belonged to a boy.

She remained on the ground for a few seconds, blinking up at the skies with soft-looking clouds floating amidst it. She felt movement beside her as she sat up, brushing the snow away from her face before directing her attention to the four children surrounding her.

They appeared to be close to her age, except the only girl in the group who appeared to be the youngest (judging by her rather short height).

"Are you all right?" It was a girl who asked that question, her hazel eyes blinking at her with concern. Her brown hair, almost bordering blonde, was tied in a ponytail. There was a doll that she held to her chest, looking worn and colours almost faded from perhaps the constant use of it. There was another boy beside her, his skin slightly tanned and possessed blond hair. There were two others that stood by but she didn't take the time to glimpse at them.

Valentina did not answer as she rose back up to her feet and brushed away the snow she could feel on her head. The two unknown children closest to her were quick to join her side.

"Hey, are you mad?" It was the boy with blond hair that enquired this time, noting her lack of response. She only spared him a glance before she proceeded to pat away the snow that had stuck on her clothes. She frowned slightly at this, already beginning to feel the coldness sipping through her clothing. She only hopped she would not get sick after this.

"I think she's mad," she heard the boy whispering rather loudly to the girl and from the corner of the young Marlies' eyes, she could see the shorter girl casting him a glare as if to tell him that ' _Of course she's mad, idiot!_ '. Valentina remained silent and made no acknowledgement that she had seen the pair's exchange. Instead, she proceeded to make her way back to the path in search for her sister. She could already tell that she would get a harsh scolding for leaving the adult's side after she was advised not to stray away.

"H-hey! Wait!"

She halted, head shifting to look at the boy who called out to her.

There was a guilty expression on his face, eyes turned to the ground whilst he rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand.

"I didn't mean to hit you with the snowball. I'm sorry," he apologized, half-mumbling his supposedly apology. When she spared him no response, he finally looked up to decipher her features. However, her expression remained neutral, almost unreadable and that only made him worry.

"Um, do you forgive me…?"

She blinked at him, tilting her head to the side. He fidgeted from his spot at her obvious scrutiny of him and it only grew worse when she still did not say anything.

"He didn't really mean it." This time, it was the other girl who came to his defense, deciding that her friend had perhaps enough of a scolding.

Valentina finally nodded, the only acknowledgement she gave them before she turned around and went on her way. However, she was at loss when she realized that she had no semblance of where she should resume her search. Her head moved left to right as she observed her surroundings, not having the slight clue where to start.

Where would she even begin to look for her sister...?

She wasn't exactly familiar with this city and she had the feeling that she would freeze before she would even reach her sister's place. Perhaps she should approach a uniformed soldier and ask one of them to help her look for her sister?

"Hey, are you sure you're okay…?"

She shifted to slightly face the girl who still held that concerned expression on her face. It was almost endearing for this one to care for a total stranger.

She stopped, blinking at her. Maybe she could ask them for help…?

Valentina turned to fully face them and knelt down on the snow beneath their feet. They all watched her with curiosity as she stuck out one finger and began writing on the snow, forming letters that came out surprisingly neat and elegant for someone her age.

"Hey…can it be that you can't talk…?" The blond boy enquired with realization. When she did not provide a verbal response, it only proved that, indeed, she was not able to speak. The children exchanged silent looks with each other and that did not slip from her attention.

Sighing audibly, as if irritated by their unnecessary pity, Valentina wisely chose to ignore it as she finished writing her sentence.

 _I'm looking for my sister._

The letters said after she was done writing. The three peeked at what she had written and it was this _Franz_ boy that had spoken for everyone as he read the words aloud.

"I'm looking for my sister," he read out loud for his friends before his eyes flickered back to her. "Are you lost?"

A nod from the girl.

"What does she look like?"

Her brows momentarily crinkled as she thought about how much of a bother it would be to explain her half-sister's most notable features without using words. After much thought, she moved her finger again and drew a simple drawing of what the distinguishable features her sister had. They watched curiously, seeing a simple drawing of a woman with short hair come to life.

"Eh? Doesn't she look like Professor Nebilim?" Nephry piped up with recognition.

Saphir, the boy with unkempt fair hair, piped up at the mention of that name.

"Professor Nebilim?" He asked with unrestrained enthusiasm that almost reminded Valentina of a dog. If he had a tail, it would be wagging tenaciously upon the mention of its master. The thought almost sent her smiling but kept her humorous thoughts to herself.

"She's back?"

Valentina disregarded his question as she wrote down something else.

 _You know her?_

"Yes! We're her students," the younger girl informed her. "I didn't know Professor Nebilim has a sister…"

 _I'm sure she didn't either_ , she bitterly thought but chose to keep that piece of information to herself.

"Well, I do see the resemblance now that I think about it. The cuteness gave it away," Franz remarked as he eyed the girl with a silly grin on his face. "You don't look like you're from here though."

 _Grand Chokmah_ , was her response, his blatant compliment disregarded.

Something unreadable crossed the young boy's features and she found it curious. What was that reaction about...? She tilted her head to the side curiously. Now that she thought about it, this boy looked rather…familiar but she was certain that she had never met him until now. So why…?

Perhaps it wasn't important, she later concluded as she focused her attention to Nephry who spoke.

"Oh, that explains why we've never seen you around," the little girl pointed out. "What's your name, by the way?"

 _Valentina._

She didn't give them a chance to reply as she continued writing.

 _And you're Nephry, Franz, Saphir, and Jade._

"I guess there's no need for introductions then," Franz noted upon her last sentence. "Where was the last place you saw her?"

 _The market. By the chapel._

"Ah, no wonder you lost her so easily." The boy cupped his chin with one hand while the other held the elbow of that hand.

"We can just take her back to the professor's school!" Saphir suggested with an eager smile. She spotted the instantaneous roll of eyes on Franz's at his suggestion.

"Of course you would," he mumbled more to himself though the boy appeared to have heard it for he directed a glare at him.

"Well, I'm sure Jade doesn't mind!" The boy said, looking at the mentioned boy with an expectant look on his face.

Valentina looked at this Jade who, up to this point, had remained quiet for the entirety of their interaction.

The boy had brown hair that extended just past his chin with bangs ending by his eyebrows. He wore a simple winter outfit that was deemed common of this city. His eyes - _are they red?_ \- spared a brief glance at his friend, almost as if thinking that this whole ordeal was a waste of his time.

"It doesn't matter," was all he said, almost curtly. The brown-haired boy looked like he wanted no part of their foolishness, his facial expression the very definition of aloofness.

While they interacted, she rose back to her feet, brushing off the snow that clung to her clothing. She waited until the group made their decision, sensing that her opinion was not needed on this one. She did spot this _Saphir_ boy sticking out a tongue at Franz's back when he turned to speak with Nephry. Jade remained on the sideline, looking like he'd rather be elsewhere than with them. As if feeling her eyes on him, he shifted his eyes to her direction her and she felt her own eyes growing wide out at the sight of them.

They were _certainly_ red.

Perhaps her astonishment had shown itself on her expression for the aforementioned boy spoke up.

"Is something the matter?"

She blinked out of her stupor, feeling a hint of embarrassment warming her face at being caught in the act. It was rather unladylike to stare at a man – or _boy_ in this matter – in such blatant way. Easily enough, it was easy to hide her mistake, shaking her head as her only source of an answer.

Jade had easily regarded it as unimportant for he looked away from her almost immediately upon her nonverbal response and for that, she was relieved though made certain that it did not show this time. That was strange though…the boy was obviously not albino so those red eyes made no sense. The subtle energy emitting from them was, without doubt, not normal.

"We can walk her to professor's school." She heard Nephry speaking once again that interrupted her silent mulling to herself. "That should be fine…right, brother?" The younger girl's question was directed at Jade.

Ah, so they were related.

"It's fine," the boy responded with no change of emotion on his face then his gaze shifted to the blond boy standing his supposedly sister. "Don't you have to go back soon?"

"Nope. I'm fine for quite a while." The blond boy crossed his arms behind his head, a wide grin forming on his lips.

Nephry then turned to her with a wide smile already in place on her face and Valentina briefly wondered just how happy this girl could get.

"Come, we'll walk you to Professor Nebilim's place!"

Without bothering to give a verbal response, she followed after the girl as they began walking.

The group proved to be a rather energetic and hyper bunch. As Valentina observed, it would seem that Franz had a knack of antagonizing Saphir who reacted with much fervour by arguing with him, the telltale signs of tears and snot already on his face. Nephry seemed to be the pacifier between the two as she attempted to calm them both, scolding Franz to leave him alone and then proceeded to comfort Saphir. Jade, however, remained unfazed by it all. Though, it was more accurate to say that he ignored their antics as they trekked through the snowy path.

In spite of it all, they all seemed to get along well, she noted. They were a strange group of friends.

"You're Professor Nebilim's sister, right?"

Her observing eyes moved to Jade who kept in pace with her, remaining a few steps behind the still bickering trio ahead of them. She waited for him to continue talking, knowing that he had more to say to her.

"Then must know how to use the _Seventh Fonon_."

There was an undoubtedly curious expression that appeared on her face at the sudden statement. The way he said it, it was as if he already knew that she was capable of using the Seventh Fonon, the fonon property of sound – _Lorelei_. She was aware of how it was used methodically (having read numerous books about the process) but to be able to summon it herself was perhaps an improbability. She was no fonist, simply put. But the boy did not seem like he had any interest in knowing for he was already focused on the path they trek on.

The three ahead of them remained oblivious to the conversation initiated by this strange boy beside her. Something about him made her uncomfortable – cold, unreadable – just like her father whom she had met only once.

Her eyes grew cold at the thought but immediately discarded it when Nephry began speaking to her.

"Look, Valentina! We're almost at Professor Nebilim's place!"

Nephy's sudden announcement distracted her from her conversation with the brown-haired boy and focused her attention to the younger girl. She looked to the direction the younger brunette was pointing at and saw a familiar building a block away from where they stood.

Saphir was the first to run down the path, obviously eager to see his teacher, whilst the remaining children followed after in a more leisure manner.

As they entered the gate leading to the building, they noticed her sister standing at the front, speaking with a pair of uniformed soldiers. She looked somewhat troubled, frantic as she spoke with the two males.

"Professor Nebilim!" Saphir called before they could even wonder about the strange presence of the Malkuth soldiers. Nebilim paused her conversation with the pair and directed her attention to the boy who hugged her by the waist, her franticness still remaining on her features.

"Saphir!"

"I heard you were back!" The boy said with a toothy smile on his face. For a moment, Gelda's panic was replaced with a smile as she patted the boy on the head, perhaps in an attempt not to alarm her student.

"Did you now?" She acknowledged just as the boy moved away from her.

"What's wrong? You look worried…"

The woman opened her mouth to respond but stopped upon seeing Valentina.

"Valentina!"

Before anyone had a chance to react, the teacher ran up towards Valentina. The girl was pulled to a hug, feeling her sister's arms wrapped themselves around hers. She stilled at the sudden physical contact but did not push her away.

"I was so worried!" The woman told her, pulling back a bit to stare at her. Her eyes looked over her body, checking if she was hurt anywhere. When she was certain that she was unhurt, the woman let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Yula you're all right," she breathed out.

"Miss Nebilim?"

Gelda stood up upon remembering that the soldiers were still here.

"I am to assume this is your younger sister?" The man asked.

"Ah, this is her. I apologize for troubling you…" Quickly, she faced the two and gave them a bow.

"No, no. It is good that she is back safe," the man assured with a ready smile on his face. He turned to face the young girl and offered her a smile but she only looked away.

"Well, I suppose we should head back. Take care now."

"Yes. Thank you once again."

Their booted feet trudged through the snow, leaving the vicinity. Valentina silently watched them leave before directing her attention to her sister when she heard her sigh once more.

"Where were you? The moment I looked behind me, you were gone."

She looked away, finding herself holding her hands behind her back. Her head tilted down a bit in shame as she knew that she was certainly going to be scolded. Gelda noticed this and let out a sigh once again. She raised a hand but the girl flinched, having expected to be hit. However, much to her surprise, her sister had only patted her head as some kind of silent assurance that she meant her no harm and that she was not mad.

"I'm not mad. I was just worried. You understand, right?"

She visibly relaxed at this. Gelda smiled at her relief before turning to look at her students who had remained silent throughout this interaction.

"Ah, I suppose I have to thank you all for bringing my sister home safely, hm?" She stated with a smile. Saphir was the one to answer, his face lighting up with a smile.

"Yes, professor! We met her at the park. Franz hit her with a snowball to the face!" And of course he took advantage of it to snitch on his supposedly friend. Franz let out an incensed cry at that as he faced Saphir.

"You–!"

"Franz, did you really?" Gelda interrupted before the other boy could deny what Saphir had claimed. The boy fidgeted from his spot, deliberately avoiding his mentor's eyes. He could already tell the firm expression on her face if he so much looked at her face.

"It was an accident!" He reasoned, almost petulantly.

"And did you apologize?" Gelda asked.

"…Yes."

"As long as you apologized and Valentina doesn't seem to be hurt at all," the woman said this while inspecting her sister. Then she broke into a smile.

"Today had certainly been a long day." She glanced at her wristwatch, noting with surprise that it was way past twelve already. "Who wants some snacks?"

All three of them, except Jade and Valentina, had eagerly raised their hands. Gelda chuckled wholeheartedly at this and urged them to go inside the house. The three were more than eager to do so, quickly running inside excitedly while Jade followed at a more lax pace.

Valentina had remained rooted on her spot, watching as the other children had already entered the house, their voices could be heard from outside. She looked up when her sister still remained there, an expectant look directed at her.

"Let's go, Valentina," her sister said with a smile, hand outstretched towards her.

Her eyes strayed to the hand of the older woman, feeling a sense of déjà vu at this scene. She remembered the first time they had arrived at Keterburg, where she had offered to hold her hand with no arguments or whatsoever.

The smile that her sister still wore slightly warmed her heart, momentarily making her forget about her mother. When the larger hand enclosed around hers gave her hand a slight squeeze, she returned the gesture as her question went unspoken.

 _Can I trust you?_


	4. Chapter Three: Milk

**A/N** : I'm so sorry for the late update! And on top of that, this is a very boring chapter. I want to mention that the first couple of chapters will be boring since I want to establish the relationship between Valentina and Gelda so that the angst later on is so immense you won't be able to function LOL

Also, I want to build up the relationship with Valentina and the others, have her slowly warm up to them. Her mother and father will still play a huge role in later chapters. So enjoy the mild fluff while it lasts…because when Gelda dies, that's when shit literally goes down lmao

Last note, The Lonely Little Girl is a reference to the main character of the game called "Rule of Rose". I love that game!

As always, please review :)

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Milk**

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ND1992 Remday, Undine-Redecan 4

Keterburg – Malkuth

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Gelda's brows scrunched up when she read the letter in her hands. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the package that had been left on the foyer of her house. The paper shuffled as she folded it back albeit messier than its former pristine condition when she first received it. She was unusually displeased at letter's contents but it was expected from its sender.

She had expressed her concerns about Valentina's lack of verbal speech yet their father had merely brushed it off and told her to give it some time. He then proceeded to say that he would much prefer that they halt any form of contact between them due to severe matters at the palace, which she knew really meant to stop bothering him and then sent this package (and another at a later time) as some form to shut her up.

She withheld any unpleasant thoughts she would have of her father, aware that it would be anything but a waste of her time. Her father had always been an insufferable man and it was unlikely for him to change anytime soon.

Hastily, she pocketed the letter as her eyes focused on the large chest that had arrived earlier. She had been informed that it was for Valentina containing new clothes, jewelry, and anything else that their father had assumed the young girl would wish to have.

She let out a huff as she dragged it to the living room, her arms burning as she moved it to the next room with great effort. Huffily, she realized just how out of shape she had become since she had left the Order of Lorelei.

 _But that's to be expected_ , she thought to herself as she set the chest on the floor. She wiped the few drops of sweat that formed on her forehead, reminding herself that she should at least work out once in a while.

She looked up at the sound of a cry, eyes automatically looking outside the window of the room.

Her students were playing outside. Just as she had assumed, Saphir was crying with traces of snow still on his face. Nephry was already comforting the boy and although she couldn't exactly hear her words, she could tell that the younger Balfour was chastising responsible for the boy's cry. She knew without even guessing that it was the work of Franz, ever the mischievous boy or maybe even Jade.

She approached the window and watched the children outside. She could see Jade not too far away from the group, looking entirely uninterested to everything while her younger sister watched the group from a safe distance. The blank expression on her face was uncannily similar to Jade's. She looked entirely out of place from the scene, looking too well-dressed from someone who was just out to play snow fight.

A worried frown wormed its way on her lips.

Valentina proved to be a brilliant child, perhaps even bordering prodigiousness. So far, she had aced most of her classes though she remained reclusive despite being around with her closest students. It was obvious that the girl did not want to get close with anyone, even to her. There was also the listless look on her face whenever she thought no one was looking, the loneliness evident in her face.

A child of her age should not have a look that people who had seen a lot possessed. She should be out there, playing and worrying about things a normal child should. Gelda couldn't help worrying over her. Idly, she thought of Jade and she almost heaved a sigh.

She was at lost.

"Professor!"

Her thoughts are halted as she looked up at whoever had called her. She could hear noises coming from the foyer so she made her way there.

"It's okay, Saphir. Professor Nebilim will make it better!" She could hear Nephry's girly voice trying to comfort Saphir just as she stepped out of the living room. She found the group of children gathered around the foyer, Valentina closing the door behind them once all of them were inside. She could see the slight frown on the young girl's face at the cool breeze that managed to waft inside before she had closed the door.

Saphir was wailing and she averted her attention to her wailing protégé, quickly approaching them.

"Saphir? What's the matter?" She asked as she knelt in front of the crying boy. He was covering his forehead with both hands and it was then that she noticed the blood that was slipping down his face. Quickly tugging his hands away, her assumption was correct once she saw the bleeding wound.

"He tripped and hit himself," Nephry explained.

"I didn't push him!" Franz was quick to defend then proceeded to mumble something to himself. " _Not this time._ "

"Professor, it hurts!" The boy wailed, sniffing.

"It's okay, Saphir. It's not a deep wound," she assures, giving the child a smile. Then she turned to Valentina. "Valentina, do you mind grabbing a small clean towel for Saphir? Make sure you soak it with warm water."

Her younger sister only nodded and went inside, her tiny booted feet padding through the wooden flooring. As soon as she was gone, she looked back at Saphir who still had not ceased his crying.

"Saphir, it's okay. There's no need to cry," she coos, rubbing the child's arm in an attempt to soothe him. "I'll be healing it now so I need you to stay still, okay?"

The boy nodded his head, giving one last sniff as he looked at his mentor.

Gelda raised her one hand towards the child's forehead. A white glyph appeared amidst the air, spinning and glowing as she summoned the seventh fonons. It was at this moment that Valentina walked back, a towel in her hand. She watched her sister heal the wound, fascinated and captivated by the sight.

Slowly, the wound on the child's forehead began to close until there was no trace of it except the blood. Gelda pulled away her hand, giving him a smile.

"See? It's gone now," she told him, patting his head gently. A small movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned, seeing Valentina standing there and holding the towel she had requested earlier. The girl looked like she was in a trance, watching them with a focused expression on her face.

Gelda beckoned the girl towards her and only then did the girl snap out of whatever trance she was in. She then approached her wordlessly, handing her the towel. Taking it, she proceeded to wipe the blood off Saphir's face.

"It's okay, Saphir. There's no need to cry. You're fine now." She proceeded to comfort the child, smiling kindly and patiently. Thankfully, Saphir's cries had diminished to small sniffles now. Though, his face remained a mess due to the tears and snot that lingered on his skin. The sight itself was revolting but Valentina made certain that her disgust did not show on her face. Idly, she wondered just how much would it take for a person to cry until they were dehydrated.

Gelda wiped the boy's face until he finally stopped crying, continuing to comfort him as if he was nothing but a toddler. Once he had calmed down, she suggested that everyone take a break, leading them to the quaint kitchen.

The children situated themselves on the wooden chairs. And already, they were making a ruckus. Mostly, it was Saphir yelling at Franz for whatever reason while aforementioned boy simply laughed, clearly unaffected by his friend's ( _He's_ not _my friend!_ ) anger. Nephry only sighed at the two of them, having given up playing pacifier for the two. Jade and Valentina were silent, the latter looking outside the window.

"Right, right," she said, approaching the rowdy group and carrying something in her hands. "Settle down, everyone. I brought everyone drinks."

As soon as she mentioned that, everyone immediately behaved, looking up at her with expectant looks. She couldn't hold in her laughter at the sight, settling down each one of them a glass.

"There you go. Hope you like it!" She set the last glass in front of Valentina. The girl looked at it curiously, wondering what it is. The glass contained some kind of white liquid, steam coming out of it. A sweet scent wafted from it and it almost made her tummy growl.

"It's milk," she told her with a small smile. "Nothing beats a relaxing warm drink after an exhausting day, right?"

"Professor Nebilim makes the most delicious warm milk ever!" Nephry validated, already sipping on her own drink, leaving a white trail on her upper lips. Saphir and Franz seconded this claim, albeit distractedly as they were too engrossed by the drink. Even Jade, whose face normally remained blank, appeared to be slightly pleased. Gelda chuckled at this, patting the younger Balfour's head.

"Ah, your flattery warms my heart, Nephry."

The girl beamed at her in return before turning back to her drink.

Valentina turned her head to look back at the drink. Quietly, she picked up the tall, clear glass with her hands, drinking it slowly. The drink was warm and sweet. It was a nice change to the cold weather from outside.

"Do you like it?" Gelda asked with a knowing smile, noting the delighted expression on the girl's face. It was such an innocent and child-like look on her face that it warmed up her heart.

Valentina averted her eyes from the drink up to her sister, nodding her head as an answer. The smile on the older sister's face grew wide at this.

"I'm glad."

While they drank their drink, Gelda decided to sit with them and listened to their stories. It was mostly Nephry, Saphir, and Franz who talked. Jade occasionally offered his own thoughts here and there but mostly remained silent. Valentina said no word, simply watching them converse.

From her mere observations so far of the group, she noticed that Saphir seemed to have an affinity with Jade. He got extremely possessive every time Franz even spoke a word to Jade, perhaps feeling threatened that Jade would be closer of a friend with Franz than he. Jade didn't appear to care about the boy, or anyone for that matter while Franz just didn't give a care at all; he seemed to be the type to be friendly with everyone. Nephry seemed to get along well with all of them but Valentina noticed that she was squirmy around her older brother, as if she was afraid of him.

Why was that? It was a strange reaction to someone she was related to by blood.

 _Ah_ , she thought as she was reminded of something. She did not feel comfortable her own father either. Who was she to talk?

"Say, Professor," Nephry asked, grabbing their attentions.

"What is it, Nephry?" The woman asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"How come Valentina doesn't talk?"

The question had immediately settled an awkward air in the room. Everyone's eyes instantly were on Valentina, her fingers still grasping the half-empty glass of milk. Gelda looked uncomfortable by the sudden question, unsure how to answer the girl's question. She knew it was an innocent question and Nephry meant no harm. Silently, she glanced at her sister who appeared to be unaffected by the whole ordeal, sipping her drink silently.

"That is…" The older woman began, trailing off. Finally, as if finally mulling over her next words, she verbalize them carefully.

"Something…unfortunate happened to Valentina that rendered her mute for the moment," she explained.

"Why is that?" Nephry asked once more.

 _Yula's grace, bless this girl's soul_ , she thought.

"I don't know, Nephry," she admitted. "But I'm sure she'll be able to speak once again. So be patient with her, okay?"

Nephry nodded her head at this, as if finally satisfied with such answer and finished the remnants of her drink. Gelda sighed inwardly to herself.

Children's brusqueness could be both a curse and blessing in disguise.

* * *

Moments later, before the sun set, everyone had left for their home.

Valentina sat by the fireplace, watching the flames engulf the wood. She looked up at the sound of her sister entering the living room.

"Ah, there you are," the woman said, smiling instantly. "Father had sent you something. Would you like to see it?"

Her sister turned to pull a huge chest in the corner of the room, something she had noticed earlier but paid no attention to. Though, if she were to be honest, she was a little curious to see what had her supposedly father sent her so she stood up to her feet and followed after her sister.

Gelda had already pulled the lid open. Valentina peered, eyeing the various wrapped items inside.

"Well, he certainly sent a lot." She heard her sister mumble under her breath, turning to her as if to tell her and go ahead.

Uncertainly, the girl picked up the one closest to her, peering at the wrapped object with silent observation. It was soft and oddly-shaped. She looked up at her sister, as if to ask permission if she could open it. The woman merely gave her a nod and a smile, telling her to go ahead.

Pulling the wrapper away, it revealed a stuffed animal. It was supposed to be some sort of animal; she couldn't really tell. It was white and had blue eyes, the smile looking demented, if anything. As if to compensate from how strange it looked, a huge blue bow with frilly ends sat atop its head, though it did nothing to make it look cute.

Just what exactly is this…?

"Father seemed to have sent you some clothes as well," Gelda observed, taking out some of the heavier packages out of the box.

Valentina averted her gaze away from the toy (or was it a doll? She wasn't entirely sure) to look at her sister. Gelda was visibly more excited than she was with the items sent to her by their shared father. The adult helped her open the packages, looking entirely exuberant, especially when she saw the clothes.

"Look! You would look _absolutely_ adorable on this one!" The woman exclaimed happily as she held up a frilly, white dress to her. "Pair it up with these pair of shoes and you would look like a doll!"

The continued to babble to herself.

Valentina turned to look at the chest once again. Something in the very corner of it caught her eye so she picked it up.

It was a book of some sort, thin and had a maroon red hard cover. It was easy to tell that it was new due to the ' _clean_ ' smell it emitted.

 _The Lonely Little Girl_ , the title read, signed by who she presumed was the author of the book. There was a picture of a girl, her skin and hair white. Her whole outfit consisted of white as well, reminding her of a ghost.

It was a fairytale book she was so familiar with, one that she knew the story word by word.

 _"A long time ago, there lived a lonely little girl. She was all alone, had no one._

 _No parents, no family."_

 _She looked up at her mother, her eyebrows crinkling with confusion._

 _"Why is she alone, mother?" She asked._

 _Her mother stopped with her reading to look at her. Her signature smile formed on her lips, directing it at her. Her hand held her cheek gently, caressing it fondly._

 _"Because, my sweet Valentina," her mother began with that melodious, sweet voice of hers. Yet the next words that left her lips were anything but sweet and had instead brought a cold shiver down her spine. "Everyone ultimately ends up alone. So will_ you _."_

She snapped out of her reverie, finding her hands clasped around the book tightly. Her knuckles had gone white, perhaps due to how tight she was gripping on it.

"Valentina?"

She whipped her head up, meeting the worried face of her sister.

"What's the matter?" She asked, putting down the dress she was inspecting to approach her. The woman knelt in front of her, observing her frightened features. She shook her head, an effort to tell her it was nothing. Of course, her sister looked like she didn't believe her but didn't press further. Instead, she rose back up on her feet, holding her hand in the process.

"Come, it's past your bedtime. You're probably tired from playing with everyone today, right? I'll unpack the rest for you."

She was led upstairs to her bedroom. After being tucked into bed, her sister gave her a smile. When she turned to leave, Valentina held out a hand and gripped on the hem of her sister's lab coat.

Gelda quickly turned to look at her, finding a panicked look on her face. It was a strange expression compared to her usual aloof ones. Her features softened, her motherly instincts coming to her.

She reached out a hand to pat the girl gently on the head, brushing her fingers through her hair.

"It's all right, I'm here for you."

And, as if that was all she needed to hear, the girl let go of her.

Gelda wished her a good night before turning off the lights and closing the door. As she went back downstairs in the living room, she began cleaning up. She paused, however, when she saw a book that Valentina had been looking at before. Picking it up, she read the title.

"The Lonely Little Girl," she murmured. She looked from the book to the stairs leading up to the next floor.

Was this the cause of her distress earlier?


	5. Chapter Four: Moon

**A/N** :Uh. Sorry this took a while and I cut it short because I don't know where to go from this lmao

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Moon**

* * *

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ND1987 Gnomeday, Shadow-Decan 7

Grand Chokmah – Malkuth

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

She had woken up to the sounds of glasses shattering. Bolting up from her position in the bed, she noticed that it was still dark. The only source of light in her dark room came from outside, from the full moon up on the dark sky. She heard another crash, followed by a muffled scream and this time, she could pinpoint that it came from her mother's room.

She removed her blanket from her body, not bothering to make her bed as she made her way out of her bedroom. Her door had been left partially open, as advised by her mother, so she pushed it fully open with a soft creak. The hallways were dark, only illuminated by the soft moonlight that trickled inside from the windows. The crashes and high-pitched shrieks were louder this time, alarming her. No one appeared to be concerned by her mother's distress, the servants strangely nowhere to be found.

Padding through the hallway with her bare feet, she went up to the door leading to her mother's room. She flinched in surprise when she heard more glasses shattering, then her screams she recognized as her mother's. She stood on her tiptoes as she reached for the doorknob, attempting a few times before she managed to grip on the doorknob and twist it open. Pushing the door open slowly, she saw her mother's usually pristine clean room a mess, chaotic even.

The furniture had been flipped over, pushed in different directions. Pieces of shattered glasses littered the ground. Amongst the mess there stood her mother, her back facing her. Her hair was a mess, her white dress wrinkled and torn on its edges. She could hear her heavy breathing then her ceasing cries as her body shook.

"...Mother?" She called out, worried and strangely frightened.

Her mother slowly turned to face her, revealing her tear-stained face. Her face had been contorted in anger and misery but at the sight of her, they shifted to a happier expression, smiling.

"Valentina." Her voice sounded hoarse, perhaps from all the screaming she had been doing earlier.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, eyes shifting to the side when she could no longer bear the frightening glint in her mother's eyes.

The woman cackled, so much different from her soft, quiet laughs that soothed her whenever she was in distress. The woman held her head, tears staining her cheeks once more.

"Valentina...!"

The sudden scream caught her by surprise, making her take an involuntary step back.

" ** _He left us! He left me! He broke his_** **promise** ** _!_** "

Her mother let out another screech and Valentina turned and fled, her heart beating rapidly. She took one last glance at her mother, seeing saw her mother hunched down on the floor. She was crying, sobbing out sentences that made no sense but at that moment, she thought that her mother looked wilted and dying, as if she had lost all will to live.

 _"Why am I the only one being punished?"_

* * *

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ND1992 Gnomeday, Undine-Redecan 10

Keterburg – Malkuth

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

"Can you say ' _hello_ '?"

The older girl only blinked, head tilting to the side as she stared at Nephry.

"Come on! It's not that hard. You try it, Valentina!"

But she only looked at her blankly, making the younger girl frown.

"Give it up, Nephry," Franz said from his place as he built a snowman. "Professor Nebilim said we shouldn't force her to talk. Something about it taking some time."

"But Professor said she used to be able to talk! That would mean that she can do it again, right?"

Valentina stirred her attention away from the two as soon as they started arguing about her state of muteness, kneeling down to gather some snow in her hands.

The group of children had come to visit her since there was no school today. Apparently, they wanted to play with her, commenting about it being lonely just being cooped up inside all the time. With the urge of her sister, she relented albeit hesitantly.

Jade had left earlier, choosing to go study with the professor over something. Of course, that would mean Saphir had to tag along, like some lovesick puppy as he followed after his friend (though Jade would certainly deny such a thing with a rather disgusted expression on his face). Wherever Jade went, Saphir went, too.

"He wanted to learn more about the Seventh Fonon," Franz explained upon seeing her inquiring look when the two boys left. "Jade is a genius and had already mastered control over all fonons. See that his eyes are red? That's _fonon sight_ right there."

Ah, that would explain the energy she had felt from him. But wasn't fonon sight hard to control? But she could believe it, personally having encountered Jade perform his fonic skills in some classes. He wasn't the top of the class for nothing.

"But, as much of a genius he is, he can't control the Seventh Fonon," Franz added moments later. "So he's obsessed with trying to learn it and since Professor Nebilim is an expert in it, he wants her to teach him until he's finally able to summon it properly."

He suddenly tut-tutted, shaking his head at the same time.

"He needs to live a little, always burying himself with books...he's gonna become a recluse at the rate he's going."

Strangely enough, Nephry had gone silent at the subject of her older brother. The younger girl had settled with fiddling with her favourite doll who she revealed she had named as _Milly_. She looked uneasy and fidgety.

"...Brother scares me," the girl admitted, catching both of their attentions.

"Don't say that," Franz said with surprising force, a complete change from his normally friendly and lackadaisical self. "He's getting better. Professor Nebilim is trying her best to lead him to the right path."

"But I saw him bury a monster behind our house just the other day!" Nephry disclosed, her tone trembling and sounding terrified. Even Franz had nothing to say to that but he didn't look entirely surprised by this revelation, as if this was a normal occurrence.

There was a moment of silence that lapsed after that, none of them uncertain what to say to that. Valentina sensed that she shouldn't ask, opting with doodling on the ground with a stick she had found earlier.

"Despite all that," Franz began, possibly finally able to gather his thoughts. "He's still your brother, Nephry. Jade's not all bad. You just have to be patient with him. He may be smart but he's actually an idiot, too."

Nephry still looked a little doubtful but after Franz had coaxed her that they would make an igloo this time, the subject matter had been dropped entirely.

Valentina rubbed her gloved hands in an attempt to warm them, watching the puff of air that came out whenever she exhaled. She didn't really have anything to offer about Jade since she barely made conversation with anyone. Nephry and Franz were the ones who normally conversed with her since they were the friendlier two of the group. Jade and Saphir stuck to each other most of the times (or was it accurate to say Saphir followed after Jade where he went?) and barely interacted with her.

However, with the little interaction they had, he seemed to be indifferent and cold to everyone. He was renowned as a genius, acing all of their classes and had great control with the fonic artes. However, rather than the children in their classes admiring him, most of them seemed to be afraid of him. Even some of the teachers seemed to be intimidated of him.

"So, how do you like Keterburg so far, Valentina?" Franz asked, eyes affixed on the pile of snow they had gathered to make the igloo. He began to take some, molding it in the shape of a brick. "It must be a huge change, especially when it comes to the weather, huh?"

 _I hate the cold_ , she admitted, sending both of them in a fit of laughter.

"But it's a nice change, isn't it? Grand Chokmah is always bustling with activity; Keterburg, however, is really calm and peaceful."

She looked at Franz upon that statement.

 _Did you use to live in Grand Chokmah? I thought you were from Chesedonia_ _?_ [1]

"Oh, well. My family consists of merchants, remember? So we travelled a lot." He quickly supplied, much too fast that it bordered suspicious.

Valentina shrugged it away, deeming it unimportant.

"Don't you miss your parents back home?" Nephry asked after setting the brick she made on the forming igloo.

The sudden mention of her parents had her going still. All she could think of was her mother, of her floating body, the white silk dress barely going past her bare feet. Her eyes were still agape open, dried tears staining her cheeks. The eyes that used to look at her with such adoration and love had looked dead.

"Valentina?"

She stirred away from the memory, blinking as she stared at the worried expressions on the other children's faces.

"Are you okay? You look troubled," Nephry told her.

 _I don't have parents_ , she informed them, matter-of-factly.

She could see their expressions looking grim upon that fact.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Nephry apologized with a sad expression.

Valentina said nothing more, prodding a snowball with a wooden stick.

"Anyway," Franz suddenly said, having felt the heavy atmosphere. "How do you like it here so far, Valentina?"

 _Cold_ , was the only thing she said, her lips formed into a frown. Both Franz and Nephry couldn't help the grin forming on their faces upon her comment.

"Well, you'll have to get used to it," Franz teased.

 _I wish sister lived in a warm place..._

"Well, Chesedonia is hot all the time. I heard it doesn't snow there," Nephry suggested.

"Yeah, but it's _blazing_ hot there and they have sandstorms," Franz told her, making a face that meant he did not enjoy his stay there.

 _Sandstorms?_

Franz hummed as he mulled over on how to describe it, placing one gloved hand under his chin.

"It's a windstorm that blows hot air, dust, and sand. It's not pleasant."

But she didn't look convinced, thinking that being in such a hot place would be preferable over this cold weather.

 _Can we go back inside?_ She asked.

Franz gave her a wide grin at that, handing her a snowball.

"Nope!" He told her, sounding much too happy to her liking. "You have to play with us."

The displeased look on her face went unnoticed by the boy as he turned around to hand something to Nephry. The thought to sneak away and head back to her sister's warm home crossed her mind but he knew that Franz would only go after her and drag her out again.

The boy was certainly bossy when he wished to.

She was forced to help them build the igloo. Franz watched her like a hawk, in case she decided to sneak off and disappear on them.

Mechanically, she began stacking a few snow bricks on the half done igloo. After a few minutes, she grew tired of having to hold the snow, wondering silently to herself if there was another way to summon snow without inevitably touching it herself.

At that thought, she remembered a book she had read in passing about the third and fourth fonons. By combining the two fonons, ice could be summoned. She began recalling her lessons, trying to remember the process of gathering fonons.

She glanced at her two gloved hands, flexing her fingers a bit. Concentrating, she summoned the two fonons, pulling them in as she carefully weaved them together. She felt something shift in the air, the fonons slowly gathering around her, testing the waters. _Never force it_ , she remembered reading from the book. Once she was comfortable enough, she began the process and it all went effortlessly from there.

Nephry and Franz both stopped what they were doing as they saw the light that emitted from beneath Valentina's feet. It was a fonon glyph.

Once she was sure that she had proper control of the fonons, she aimed her hands at the igloo and soon, snow began to form itself. She moved her hands up, aiming at the top to finish off the roof. Soon, the igloo was finished.

Both Franz and Nephry stared at it with obvious shock on their faces then they turned to look at her.

"Where did you learn that?!" Nephry gasped out, bewildered and awed at what she had just seen.

Valentina tilted her head to the side, writing something on the ground.

 _From a book._

"And you've never summoned fonons before this?" This time, it was Franz who asked this, still unable to recover from his initial surprise.

"You're amazing, Valentina!" Nephry complimented happily, holding her hand as she tugged at it excitedly.

"We need to tell Professor Nebilim! She'd be so happy to hear about it!"

Before she could even say anything, the younger girl had already pulled her back the direction of the school. Vaguely, she wondered why she even bothered coming out of the house when they would just go back.

The walk back to her home went fast, what with Nephry almost dragging her quite literally. Franz trailed behind them quietly, mumbling something along the lines of " _I'm surrounded by socially awkward geniuses..._ "

"Professor Nebilim!" The girl called out as soon as they were inside.

Amidst the various textbooks and funnels and beakers filled with varying colours of liquid, the professor looked up upon the call of her name. She noticed that Jade and Saphir were with her; they appeared to be in a middle of an experiment.

Jade often came by for extra fonon classes or experiments. Gelda explained to her younger sister that he had a curious mind and seemed to enjoy their little private lessons. He always appeared to be bored in class, probably due to the fact that the lessons were far too easy for him and was not stimulating enough for him. Saphir usually attended as well, only because he went wherever Jade went. Despite Valentina's initial impression of him as an idiot, the boy had an affinity to machines and came up with brilliant ideas once in a while.

Shocking, really, considering most of the time, he was bawling his eyes out over something coherently stupid.

"What's the matter?" Gelda asked, turning off the burner as they approached her.

"Guess what Valentina did!" Nephry announced happily, tugging the older girl towards their mentor.

Gelda tilted her head to look at her younger sister and all of a sudden, she felt bashful and looked away.

"Oh? What did she do?"

Nephry, rather than answering, tugged at the older girl.

"Show her!" The girl insisted.

"Hey, Nephry. Maybe we shouldn't force her..." Peony decided to cut in, noticing that Valentina looked uncomfortable being put on the spot.

"But only a _natural_ fonist would be able to do such a thing!"

This brought everyone's curiosity towards her. Even Gelda, despite never one to force someone beyond their comfort zone, looked like her curiosity was greatly peaked. There was a spark in her eyes that she was not familiar with, reminding her of crazy scientists she reads from books. Though she remained quiet, it was clear as day that there was no way for her to avoid this.

Indignant, she presented an open palm to her sister and summoned the fonons once again. The growing familiar light from the fonon glyph illuminated her hand and soon, a large, beautiful snowflake formed in midair.

Gelda stared at it with wide eyes, surprise evident in her face.

"Where did you learn that?" Her sister asked her.

She spelled the word book by tracing her finger against the older woman's open palm.

" _..._ book? About summoning fonons?"

A nod.

Her sister looked at her in awe but that soon changed to an exuberant smile. She looked proud as she ruffled her hair.

"I'm impressed, Valentina! I suppose it runs in the family, huh?" She said the last bit more to herself than to the younger girl, one hand cupping her chin in thought.

"Now, I'll have to see if you can control other fonons as well. You certainly have an affinity in controlling the third and fourth fonons but it wouldn't harm to hone it just a bit more. I suppose I should have you join Jade and Saphir for fonon lessons as well."

The younger girl frowned at that, not wanting to be around the infamous crybaby of the group. Of course, this went unnoticed by her older sister.

Not only that, she glanced at Jade, she was going to be stuck with Jade. The boy, sensing her eyes on him, met her eyes with equal blankness.

Why did she sense that this arrangement would only bring her a headache?

* * *

[1] - In Ashita no Shiro, when Franz first started attending Professor Nebilim's school, he told everyone that his family are merchants and that they were from Chesedonia.


End file.
